


On This Happy Occasion of Master Taking a Bride

by fencer_x



Category: No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-13
Updated: 2011-09-13
Packaged: 2017-10-23 17:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/252833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencer_x/pseuds/fencer_x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, the konezumi trio are human. And also are adorable small children. This should be all you <i>really</i> need to know :3 Break from canon to show snapshots of a slice-of-life piece.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On This Happy Occasion of Master Taking a Bride

Their first impression of Shion-sama was not a good one, truth be told.

He stank more than the bathroom drain when it got clogged on rainy days (but then, so did Master), and he was dripping all over the floor, nearly drenching some of the books that Tsukiyo had been reading to Hamlet and Cravat while they waited for Master to return so that they could have dinner.

He'd reminded them he'd be late, adding a more solemn warning that he might not come back at all--but then, he always said that, and he always returned just after dusk, arms laden with items from the marketplace that were quickly turned into stew or curry or soup or even occasionally some sort of grilled meat dish (far too occasionally for Cravat's liking).

This time, though, he'd returned not with a much-anticipated meal, but an _interloper_ , this person who was not Master and who smelled like sewage and made Hamlet feel faint where they three cowered in the corner just behind the low couch, watching warily with glittering, curious eyes as Master guided his guest to the shower, instructed him how to wash away the nastiness that soaked the both of them through, and pointed out the fresh clothes waiting for him when he was done.

"Oi, you three." They immediately shot to attention, scrambling forward to line up in descending order of height for inspection. Master was always sharp and had a perpetual frown on his face, but the trio had long since learned to read his emotions as eloquently as Tsukiyo with a Shakespearian tragedy before him. "Stand up straight." They sucked in their guts with a chorus of breaths, waiting for further orders.

Master crossed his arms and relaxed against the arm of the couch, sighing loudly. "All right--this is how it's going to happen. That guy in there is going to be our guest for a little while--"

"How long?" Cravat. "Oww!" Silenced by an elbow from Hamlet.

"As long as necessary," Master allowed patiently, eyeing them all in turn. "Don't get in his way or bug him any more than you would me--and _don't_ try and pull any of your shit with him just because you think I'm not watching." He directed his gaze at Hamlet this time, who gulped nervously before nodding.

Cravat raised a hand, waving it in the air, and Master nodded. "What's his name?"

"…Shion."

"So pretty…" Cravat's eyes got wide, and Master rolled his own, pushing himself back up and stripping off his outerwear which carried the same rank stench as Shion-sama had.

"Is he Master's friend?" The question came from Tsukiyo; he was the oldest (if only by a matter of weeks), and it very often went to his head with the way he tried to out-mature Hamlet and Cravat, playing the cool, confident pre-teen hoping to one day stand shoulder to shoulder with Master. He cast a calculating glance to the closed bathroom door, behind which could be heard the soft hissing of the shower running. "We can trust him?"

Master snorted, heading to the sink to wash his hands free of grime, and the trio trailed after him like puppies at his heel. "I trust Shion as far as I can throw him. But that's about as much I trust you shrimps, so I suppose that's good enough for now."

Cravat's worry seeped into his voice. "…I don't think I can throw Shion-sama very far, though…"

* * *

Their first impression of Shion-sama had not been a good one, that much was true, but Tsukiyo reminded them solemnly that, "You can't judge a book by its cover," and when Master took second shower, suddenly it was just the three of them on one side of the room and Shion-sama on the other.

Clean and no longer weighed down by sick-smelling outerwear, Shion-sama was quite a different sight. He was trying to pretend like he didn't see them, instead busying himself with picking through the stack of books near the second shelf--the one Tsukiyo had been reading from earlier and which was in very present danger of toppling over soon. Cravat was the first to venture out of their corner, curiosity getting the best of him until even Tsukiyo's hissed _get down you idiot_ and Hamlet's fervent tugging on the fraying hem of his shirt wasn't enough to keep him huddled warily out of sight.

Shion-sama was…large. Larger twice over than Cravat, but not quite as large as Master, and a fair bit more leanly built. His skin was white and unblemished, and his hands didn't look like Master's in the least, nails neatly trimmed and fingers uncalloused as he flipped the pages of _The Happy Prince_.

"…Do you like this story?" Cravat froze in place when Shion-sama spoke to him for the first time. It wasn't the same hushed, worried tone he had used with Master, but a soft and lightly lilting one that seemed familiar and yet altogether foreign to Cravat--like he _ought_ to know it but didn't. He swallowed, voice fleeing him, and Shion-sama continued, snapping the book shut and pushing it towards him. "You want to read it?"

"D-don't take it, Cravat!" Hamlet warned shrilly, leaping to his feet and rushing forward and grabbing Cravat's hands roughly by the wrist where he had been reaching out to take the book. He shot Shion-sama a sharp glance, ignoring Tsukiyo's hissed remonstration where he followed up quickly behind, but seemed to suddenly remember Master's orders to behave themselves, and he straightened up, releasing Cravat's wrists. "…Master said not to bother our guest."

Shion-sama blinked blankly, pasting on a confused smile. "Ah--I'm not a guest, really. I mean, not in any special way, I suppose."

"Master said you're a guest, though?" Cravat's brows furrowed in confusion, obviously unaccustomed to dealing with strangers in this manner. "If you're not a guest, what are you?"

"Your new mom," came a sneering voice from the bathroom, and Master padded out into the living area, sopping up the water from his hair with a ratty towel. He gave his head a shake and hung the towel about his neck. "What did I tell you about annoying him?"

"'New mom'?" Tsukiyo was dubious, to say the least. "…Master's lost it." He winced when Master reached over and flicked his forehead, rubbing at the offending mark. Shion-sama objected to the announcement as well, hissing _Nezumi…_ in a manner far more familiar than any of the trio were comfortable with.

Shion pointed to Cravat. "This one looked like he wanted a book to read was all. We were just getting to know one another."

Cravat raised his hand for attention. "I'm not 'this one'! I'm Cravat!" He then reached around and guided Hamlet in front of him. "And he's Hamlet!"

Shion-sama cast a wary gaze at Master, who shrugged and sipped on the coffee he'd set to brewing. "He likes having _Hamlet_ read to him. It's better than _Sherlock_ , at least, right?" Master snapped his fingers in Tsukiyo's direction to get his attention. "Oi. Introduce yourself; we're not heathens."

"Tsukiyo," was all he managed before slipping onto the couch, still keeping an eye on Shion-sama as if he expected the guy to turn on them all at any moment.

Master frowned in disapproval, muttering _kids these days…_ before bending down to inspect the pantry under the sink and determine what they were going to do about dinner now.

* * *

Shion-sama, it turned out, was actually very brave. Very brave, very strong, very _good_ , and certainly more trustworthy, the trio felt, than the distance Master could throw him (even though Master was very strong).

He was brave enough to not give in to the pain that wracked his body that first night while Master hovered over him--so worried, more worried than they'd ever seen him, which was somehow more frightening than Shion-sama's own harrowing screams.

He was strong enough to push through the trauma and recover, breathing hard and labored but _breathing_ nonetheless, even while trying to keep himself together for the sake of the three pairs of eyes looking on in worried confusion.

He was good enough to actually _apologize_ to Tsukiyo, Hamlet, and Cravat for scaring them, even while his hair was waxing white, all that beautiful brown color fading away into albino nothingness, and his skin burned with fever and a winding snake-like scar wrapped its way around his body beneath the covers. Cravat knelt by his bedside, knees shaking and legs aching with the effort to maintain his position, and Master let him hold the mug of cool water that Shion-sama asked for every now and then when he roused from a fever dream. When he asked Master if Shion-sama was going to die, Hamlet shushed him sharply, but even he didn't seem so sure.

But of course, Shion-sama did not die--and that fact alone proved he was trustworthy. For how could anyone who didn't have something special to live for fight so very hard to do just that? Master seemed to feel the same way and left the trio to watch over Shion-sama while he ducked out to the apothecary for some healing herbs, and it was here that they realized for perhaps the first time that Shion-sama was not simply Master's guest, not a transient who was simply seeking refuge for a few days, a week tops, but was from now on going to be an integral part of their lives. New mother he might not be, he was to become something just as irreplaceable--in their own and Master's eyes alike.

It was over a day before Shion-sama could muster the strength to eat anything more than strained soup in the few waking moments he enjoyed when not under a drug-induced sleep, but by the time he'd recovered enough to sit up in bed, his strength seemed to return with startling speed, and barely 72 hours after he'd been nearly done in by whatever Master had taken from his neck, Shion-sama was sitting with a book in his lap, reading _Alice in Wonderland_ to Cravat while Hamlet relaxed on the couch trying to avoid looking like he was hanging on Shion-sama's every word and Tsukiyo organized the Bronte sister volumes for the fifth time that month.

"Shion-sama's voice is nice," Cravat blurted out during a pause in the recitation, all but draped across Shion-sama's lap. "It sounds like...I dunno."

"It is?" Shion-sama laughed nervously. "I've never been told that before... I think it's a normal voice?"

Cravat shook his head wildly. "No way! It's like--it's like--"

"Music..." Hamlet finished solemnly, twisting around on the couch and looking very put out that he had injected himself into the conversation. "...Like when Master practices his lines. There's a nice rhythm."

"Lines?" Shion-sama cocked his head, obviously confused, but he let the issue pass. "And I suppose if it sounds good to you three--" Tsukiyo flinched, realizing he'd been caught up in the story as well. "--Then there's nothing more to say."

* * *

If one were to succinctly describe how life in their little bunker apartment was now with the arrival of Shion-sama, it would best be put into one word: Cramped.

Cravat, Hamlet, and Tsukiyo shared the small bed--wide enough for now to support three scrawny little boys but which would soon groan under the weight of puberty hitting all in quick succession--while Master had been relegated to the couch. Now, though, with Shion-sama, Master had given up the uncomfortable little couch for the even _more_ uncomfortable cold, hard floor, with only a thin blanket and a pillow that had lost most of its fluff for bedding. Shion-sama had been horrified at the prospect of sleeping in such relative comfort while Master bunked on the floor, protesting quite vociferously that he couldn't possibly--it wasn't right--surely there had to be _something_ \--

"You want to sleep on the floor, then? Your back will never be the same."

"I--well, I mean, not really..."

"Then pipe down and get to sleep; you'll wake the brats." They had to be _very very still_ , or Master would yell at them for being up past their bedtime--even if it was Master's fault they'd gotten to bed this late anyways, since he seemed to think 10 PM was the perfect time to drill Hamlet on his memorization of Act V's opening scene, which he let drag on until _exeunt omnes_.

"I can't sleep knowing you're down there though..." Shion-sama's voice was a _sotto voce_ hiss. "Can't we both fit on the couch?"

"Comfortably?" Master snorted softly. "Hardly."

There was a long pause, so long they wondered if Master had finally put the matter to rest, when Shion-sama continued, "...But we can still fit, though, right?"

Master sighed, long and labored, and there was rustling of bedding and the soft squeak of springs dipping under the strain. "You'd better not elbow me or knee me or something in your sleep. You probably move around like a monkey--I'll wind up on the floor anyways."

"Can't promise anything." Shion-sama's voice had that _note_ to it, that almost musical tone that laced through his words when he was comfortable and happy and content. "G'night Nezumi..."

"Yeah yeah..."

* * *

The great thing about Shion-sama was that he wasn't Master. He wasn't even a native citizen of West Block, they eventually came to realize, and so he was not obligated to go out as Master did to earn their daily bread, which left him with a fair amount of free time at home that the trio quickly made the best of. Not just in story-reading, which even Tsukiyo eventually drew up a chair to take in, often engaging Hamlet and Cravat in rock-paper-scissors matches to determine who'd get to pick the next book (Tsukiyo _always_ chose the most tedious Shakespearian tragedies and could be convinced to trade his turn for one or the other's dessert that evening)--but in solving disputes in a much more magnanimous manner than Master usually did (which generally involved clapping them all across the head and sending them to separate corners of the apartment until they forgot what they'd been fighting about), and even occasionally taking the trio out for short jaunts to a nearby derelict playground, urging them to be careful in climbing the rickety jungle gym and warning them away from the swings which didn't look like they could quite handle that much roughhousing.

Perhaps the most welcome change, though, was the _dogs_.

Shion-sama had been pressing Master for days in a hushed voice after they all bedded down for the night, urging Master to let him know if there wasn't something he could do to make life a bit easier around here, if he couldn't be more useful bringing in some sort of pay and helping to repay Master for his generosity, debt or no debt, until one day Master dragged them all out into the chill of winter before sunrise and pointed out a derelict hotel that was to be Shion-sama's new workplace.

The dogs, the general consensus was, were all quite nice. It was the strange, unhappy person who cared for them that was the _real_ issue. Cravat cowered behind Shion-sama's legs at the reaction he was met with on innocently inquiring just what sort of a name _was_ 'Inukashi', but Shion-sama just laughed and said he hoped to have a good working relationship.

And so, every other morning, they would the five of them rise and bundle up, and Master would head for the markets while Shion-sama and the trio headed for the lodging district, single file like a little family of ducks and babbling just as fervently. Inukashi had made it quite clear that _I'm not paying the brats a single fleck unless they pull their weight, same as an adult_ , and while Cravat had the best of intentions, he tended to get distracted with the puppies that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and Hamlet scrunched up his nose when offered a sudsed-up bathing brush, reaching instead for the shears and offering to trim the animals' cleaned coats. Only Tsukiyo rolled up his sleeves and dove into what he call _man's work_. Shion-sama smiled, accepted the aid, and told him he was going to grow up to be _just like Nezumi_ , which was about the greatest compliment Tsukiyo could handle, and Cravat had to ask if he was feeling well because he was blushing so deeply.

* * *

"Are the kids asleep, _Mother_?"

A snort. "They're in bed at least, _Father_. Can't make any promises beyond that."

"Then we'll have to be quiet..." They weren't doing a very good job of it, Cravat chided in his head. "...Someone gave me a dozen roses at the theater today. They were in my dressing room."

"Eh? A fan?" A pause, and Master had probably shrugged as best he could on the narrow couch with Shion-sama all but lying on top of him. "Those must be hard to come by..."

Master chuckled softly. "Someone's trying to buy Eve's favor..." There was faint rustling. "Oi--what? You're not _jealous_ right? It's just some dead plants."

"You told me that knowing how I'd react."

"I never know how you'll react. You're damned scary that way." He grunted softly, and his breathing grew shallow and a bit labored. Cravat hoped he wasn't coming down with something; it was the flu season, and antivirals were hard to come by--so Tsukiyo liked to remind them in a knowing, pompous voice, like he even remotely understood what an 'antiviral' even was. "...See? You're totally unpredictable."

Shion-sama laughed softly, then took a deep breath which he released slowly. "I'll send you flowers next time."

"Asters?"

"Sorry--not in season."

"I want asters though." A pause, and then they both broke into muffled giggles, which sounded just _weird_ coming from Master. Shion-sama had a strange effect on him. " _Shh_! Sh--shut up, Tsukiyo and the others will..."

He didn't hear Master finish his protest, though, as a heavy yawn grabbed him by the very throat and dragged him under until he slipped out of consciousness and dreamt that he was, of all things, a rat.


End file.
